‘Terrorists don’t knock off at 5pm on a Thursday’: Opposition leader Bill Shorten lashes the government

New encryption laws mean the end to private messaging1:07

Controversial new encryption laws introduced by the Australian government give more powers to intelligence and law enforcement agencies and access to encrypted messages on some popular online applications in an attempt to prevent terrorism and organised crime.

The brutal back and forth between the government and the opposition failed to yield many results on the final sitting day for the year but they did manage to pass one law — giving police and intelligence agencies the ability to look at encrypted messages.

The last minute law passed tonight after the coalition played a high-stakes game with Labor.

The Morrison government was hopeful of getting the laws passed by Christmas to give authorities the power to crack encrypted communications used by terrorists and criminals.

Earlier today, the government accused Labor of leaving Aussies open to “terrorists and paedophiles” if the laws weren’t passed before the busy Christmas period.

But tonight on ABC’s 7.30, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten lashed that suggestion, instead blaming the delay on the government and telling Leigh Sales that Labor was the motivated party.

“What we’ve managed to do in the course of today, in one day, is we got an agreed position last night, Liberal and Labor working together as we should, and today the government gave us the 170 changes,” Mr Shorten said.

“They’re now being debated in the Senate. The PM said this law was fundamental to us being safe over Christmas but because the Senate hadn’t done it by 3pm today, what’s happened is the government’s gone home.

“That’s not a way to run safety. Terrorists don’t knock off at 5pm on the first Thursday in

Sales questioned why Mr Shorten passed the encryption bill if he still had concerns. Picture: ABC/7.30Source:ABC

Leader of the House Christopher Pyne earlier said Labor should take the blame for higher power prices and heaped pressure on the opposition to be bipartisan on national security.

“Labor has chosen to allow terrorists and paedophiles to continue their evil work in order to engage in point scoring,” he said.

After the coalition shut down the lower house to avoid dealing with the asylum-seeker health checks bill, Labor decided to pass the encryption laws without amending them.

Mr Shorten said he wasn’t going to leave Australians without the necessary protections over the holidays just because the coalition didn’t want to be embarrassed in parliament.

‘They were willing to sacrifice the encryption laws, which they know have to be amended,” he told reporters.

The coalition agreed to consider amending the laws once parliament returns in February to include recommendations from the joint parliamentary committee on intelligence and security.

“Australia is a safer place as a result of the passage of the encryption laws in the Senate tonight,” Attorney-General Christian Porter said.

“This ensures that our national security and law enforcement agencies have the modern tools they need, with appropriate authority and oversight, to access the encrypted conversations of those who seek to do us harm.”

The laws require tech companies to help police and intelligence agencies see encrypted messages, which experts say will mean encryption will be broken.

The proposed laws were set to be in limbo if they were amended in the Senate, because the coalition shut down the lower house rather than lose a vote about asylum-seeker children.

Mr Porter told the House the new powers are necessary to prevent further terrorist events.

They include extending the powers to state and territory police forces and ensuring they cover a broad range of serious offences and not simply terrorism.

These were both issues Labor had argued against but gave way on. Manager of Opposition Business Tony Burke said Labor was only given the coalition’s 173 draft amendments at 6.30am on Thursday, hours before they were introduced to parliament.

Labor said the bill is too broad and confusing, especially the definition of “whole class of technology”.

“What does that mean? No ordinary person can understand it, and no lawyer can understand it,” shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison insisted ordinary Australians would not be captured by the laws.

Mr Porter said police and national security agencies would still require a warrant to access the encrypted messages.

“All this legislation does is request — and if they decline, require — the tech companies to assist us in making good on the warrant,” Mr Porter said.